The use of wall mountable hose reels for convenient handling and storage of a flexible garden hose has risen in popularity. A basic wall mounted hose reel includes a semi-circular shaped hook having a central axis that is positioned perpendicular with respect to the wall surface. The hose is typically coiled over the hook for storage. Use requires the user to take down the hose and uncoil it as needed. While the use of these devices is common, the requirement to manually coil the heavy hose for placement over the hook deters many people from using these devices.
Another type of wall mounted hose reel utilizes a plate mounted to the wall surface. An axle extends outwardly from the plate and perpendicular to the wall. A spool is rotatably mounted for rotation about the axle. A hand grip or knob is provided to rotate the spool. However, this type of wall mounted hose reel typically requires the hose to be pulled off the reel in a direction that is perpendicular to the spool, making the device unsuitable for most users.
It has become common for products such as wall mounted hose reels to be shipped unassembled, as it facilitates more regularly shaped packaging and cost savings for larger pallet loads. For example, a wall mountable hose reel shipped in a disassembled state can easily fit into a box that allows the device to be shipped on a pallet together with numerous other similarly shaped boxes. Thus, it is not unusual to have twenty or more boxes of unassembled wall mountable hose reels placed on a pallet. In addition to requiring tools for assembly, the assembly process can be time consuming and frustrating for the consumer and can lead to damaged goods if the assembly is done improperly. Damage can occur when the consumer fails to either follow instructions, tries to force fit a component, or doesn't have the proper tools for assembly. The result is aggravation to the consumer, who may ask the store to take the product back and refund their money. Accepting the returns not only voids the sale, but increase the cost for the retailer who much complete consuming paperwork to request the manufacturer take the product back. As a result, cottage industries have developed solely for the purpose of assembling products that have been purchased in a disassembled state. Many stores that carry unassembled products have personnel on staff to assemble the product at a cost to the consumer. Thus, a pre-assembled product is preferred by the consumer for cost and aggravation purposes.
By contrast, an assembled product usually becomes bulkier, thus requiring larger packaging and occupying more shipping space. The cost of shipping larger boxes increases the price of the product to the consumer. To combat the requirement of additional space, manufacturers have constructed spools having modified end plates that include flattened or folding sides to facilitate stacking in a more compact arrangement. However, the spools with folding or cut away end plates create issues for users such as additional fragile components that become embrittled in the sun and break. Folding or cut away end plates also create issues when retracting the hose from an angle, causing the hose to wind around the axle adjacent to the spool. Thus, what is lacking in the art is a wall mount hose reel designed to be shipped without bulky packaging in a nested condition to reduce storage and shipping space following pre-assembly at the factory. The wall mountable hose reel should include spool end plates that are full circles when viewed from the end. The wall mountable hose reel should also include options for convenience features such as shelving for accessories and a levelwind to place the hose upon the spool in a controlled and space saving manner. The wall mountable hose reel should be relatively lightweight and should include built in keyhole type apertures to facilitate mounting upon a wall without requiring the person mounting the device to hold it in place during fastener insertion. The wall mountable hose reel should also include built in stop points that provide for shipment in a nested arrangement.